


After the Storm Blows Through

by treaddelicately



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Post-Canon, with just a little bit of banter and fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:55:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26842495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treaddelicately/pseuds/treaddelicately
Summary: When an intergalactic diplomatic mission goes awry, Daisy doubts her abilities as a leader, and Daniel reminds her why she shouldn't.
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 38
Kudos: 112





	After the Storm Blows Through

**Author's Note:**

  * For [earnmysong](https://archiveofourown.org/users/earnmysong/gifts).



> I wrote canon-verse, whaaaaaat? This was _not_ supposed to be this long, and honestly it wasn't supposed to be this angsty? But I had feels so now here they are.
> 
> For the lovely @[earnmysong](https://archiveofourown.org/users/earnmysong), who requested "anything with hair" from an intimacy prompt post on tumblr. I hope it's everything you wanted!!
> 
> A huge hug and thank you to @[myracingthoughts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myracingthoughts/pseuds/myracingthoughts), who beta'd this puppy for me and provides endless opportunities for me to scream about these characters every day with her. She's the realest.

The water ran clear, but Daisy couldn’t bring herself to step out of the shower just yet. It was still surprisingly hot for a plumbing system set up on a spaceship capable of interstellar travel, and the water pressure wasn’t half-bad, either. Enough to rinse the grime and blood from her hair and to soothe her aching muscles after a fight.

The thing was, it wasn’t even supposed to _be_ a fight. An emissary mission, establishing contact and new allies in a far-off solar system. Except the Dhicuds had been far more interested in robbing them blind than making friends, and had caught all of them off-guard. It was over relatively quickly, all things considered, but the physical and diplomatic damage was done.

Daisy flexed her hands and winced as the throbbing pain made a hard left into something more visceral that ran up her arms and made her stomach churn. Purposely leaving her gauntlets on Z-3 had been an intentional gesture of good faith. A peaceful show for the purple bastards who’d turned on them.

She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

It wasn’t fair to take up every bit of hot water they had available, so she finally forced herself to climb out and dry off. The shaking in her hands worsened in the cool air, and by the time she’d gotten a shirt and sweatpants pulled on, her chest heaved with the effort of working through it. Nothing that a few hours in the healing pod wouldn’t help, but first she had to get her hair brushed and pull herself together.

She made it through one wet, tangled knot before the hairbrush clattered to the counter. Ridiculous. She could take out an entire alien security team with her bare hands, but now they were betraying her so much she couldn’t even untangle her gnarled hair.

Just as she picked the brush up and made to try again, a soft knock on the door startled her. Feeling chastened by taking up precious time in the shared bathroom, Daisy flipped the lock and eased the door open to apologize.

Sousa’s concerned face greeted her on the other side, lit soft yellow by the bulbs from the vanity. His eyebrows were all furrowed, with that adorable little crease she liked to kiss when he was confused about something new and exciting from the future.

“Hey.” Daisy felt his eyes move, appraising her injuries and probably her mental state. He’d gotten really, really good at doing it at warp speed. “Thought I’d come check on you. You’ve been in here a while.”

Her lips curved in what she hoped was a smile. “There was a lot of alien goop between my toes.” 

It didn’t fool him for a second. The worry line between his eyes deepened and he pushed the door open a little wider.

“You want a hand?”

Daisy wanted to say no. The instinctual need to shut him out clawed at her gut and made her want to curl in on herself, to insist that she could handle it. It was a hairbrush, for crying out loud. But his eyes were so soft and willing, and months of close quarters with the man out of time had taught her a thing or two. 

Like no matter how far she tried to jump away when things got hard, he’d just circle patiently and catch her when she was ready to land.

Slowly, she nodded. “Yeah, actually. If you don’t mind.”

It was his turn to smile like she’d told a joke. The bathroom wasn’t really big enough for both of them, made for functionality rather than luxury, but with the door closed Daniel was able to stand behind her and meet her eyes in the mirror.

Daisy held up the hairbrush and tried not to focus on how it wobbled in her grip.

Thankfully, Daniel didn’t bring it up. Just took the brush from her and parted a section of her hair so he could run the bristles through the strands. They were both quiet until it snagged and stuck on a knot and Daisy winced.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “I’m a little out of practice.”

“You don’t say.” Their eyes met in the mirror and she smiled, a small but genuine show of her teeth. “I think you’re doing great.”

Daniel moved to the next section of hair and was more careful this time, gently tugging out another wet knot. Daisy stayed as still as possible, unwilling to let another wave of pain cross her face in case he thought he was doing something wrong.

“So are you,” he said. “That was quite a scuffle back there, but it wasn’t anything we haven’t dealt with before.”

Daisy closed her eyes. “It shouldn’t have been an issue.”

“Well, that’s pretty obvious.” Daniel must have finished because the brushing stopped and she heard the quiet noise it made when he set it on the counter. “But that doesn’t mean it was your fault.”

God, was she that predictable? Did she carry the guilt that clearly on her face? 

“Daisy,” he said into her ear. 

When she didn’t respond, his warm hand curled around her hip and spun her around to face him. She opened her eyes, surprised to feel warm, stinging tears clinging to her lower lids. Christ, of course, now he was going to see her _crying_.

“I know better.” She tilted her chin up, doing anything to keep the tears from actually spilling over. “I should have gone in ready for a fight.”

Daniel cupped her face in one hand, his calloused thumb brushing just under her cheekbone.

“That’s not always the answer, either. We’ve learned that lesson.”

She curled her hand around his wrist, bruises already patterning her skin and making for an even starker contrast between their complexions. “But it was the right answer this time. I should be able to tell the difference. It’s my responsibility.”

Too many peoples’ lives rested on her ability to assess a threat and act accordingly. She’d put her entire team in danger by not doing so. This time they’d made it out unscathed, but what about the next time she messed up? 

Maybe next time it would be more than her own fractured bones. 

Maybe next time it would be Kora in the healing pod, bleeding out and in pain. Or Daniel who ended up on the ground, eyes closed, unmoving and pale. Even the mental image had guilt rankling up her spine.

She couldn’t risk that. Not after everything she’d done to get them.

“Not just yours,” Daniel insisted. She averted her eyes and his hand slid under her chin, tilting her head and waiting patiently until she met his gaze again. “What happened back there? It could have been handled differently, sure. But you adjusted for the situation and took care of it. That’s what a leader does, sweetheart.”

Daisy stared at him incredulously. “Do you hear yourself? We could have been killed. Any of us.”

“Everyone on this ship knew that risk when they signed up.” She opened her mouth to argue, but then his forehead touched hers and his fingers were in her hair, anchoring her in place. “And they all signed up to follow you. Because they trust you.”

For the second time, she closed her eyes. This time not to avoid what Daniel was saying, but to let it sink in and resonate. There were no ulterior motives behind his words, no hidden agenda she needed to worry about. Just the honest truth. He always gave her nothing less.

“And you trust me,” she whispered, eyes flicking open to find him smiling at her.

“I followed you onto a spaceship from the future and almost died about a hundred times doing it,” he chuckled. “I thought that was pretty obvious by now.”

“Technically, you did die,” Daisy reminded him. “Like, a few times. Remember the time loops?”

His fingers slid through her hair, damp and tangle-free now. “Actually I don’t, but… someone told me that’s where you jumped me for the first time.”

“ _Jumped_ you? First of all, I wouldn’t call it jumping by any means, and second of all, Mack had no right to say anything, I told him that in…” She trailed off when his muted chuckles bubbled into all-out laughter, and found herself genuinely grinning. “Hey, now.”

He pressed his lips between her eyes, a barely-there kiss. “Better?”

Daisy’s arms ached. She would need hours in a healing pod to get back to feeling physically okay, which always left her feeling drowsy and disoriented. They had a hell of a lot of space travel to endure before their next stop at home, which she desperately missed. And on top of that the guilt was still there, waiting to strike at a moment’s notice.

There would always be losses. She’d lived through enough misery to know that by now. Some of them were unavoidable, and some of them weren't. Sometimes it would even be her fault. But she wanted to lead like Coulson, by example, and hiding away when she made a mistake wasn’t going to help anyone.

“No,” she admitted, leaning into his chest and letting herself go slack in his arms. Releasing all the tension and worry and regret for just a moment. “But it will be.”

Her team was waiting for her, and she wasn’t going to let them down.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you made it this far please leave a kudos, and if you're feeling inclined, comments make me smile super duper big. xoxo


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